Asia news

• India’s blockbuster labour reforms

  01-12-2025 19:14
  The government’s changes promise to liberalise the country’s vast jobs market
  
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• ‘Donald Trump highway’: how one China ally is courting the US 

  05-01-2026 22:00
  Phnom Penh looks to strengthen ties that have been strained by its close relationship with Beijing
  
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• Has India truly entered a higher growth phase?

  05-01-2026 17:00
  There are reasons to be optimistic — but weak job creation and private investment warrant caution
  
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• Trump’s attack leaves China worried about its interests in Venezuela | Amy Hawkins

  05-01-2026 16:51
  Maduro had just affirmed ‘strong bonds of brotherhood’ with Beijing when US made its shocking interventionVenezuela crisis – latest updatesHours before his life and the fate of his country was changed dramatically, Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, was exchanging smiles and handshakes with a Chinese delegation in the presidential palace in Caracas.On Friday evening, shortly before he was seized by US forces, Maduro wrote on Telegram of his meeting with China&rsqu
  
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• 'Tuna King' pays record £2.4m for giant bluefin at Tokyo auction

  05-01-2026 14:52
  Kiyoshi Kimura will turn prized 243kg fish into sushi rolls selling for £2.4o at his restaurant chainA sushi entrepreneur has paid a record 510.3m yen (£2.4m) for a giant bluefin tuna at a prestigious auction in Tokyo’s main fish market.Kiyoshi Kimura, who styles himself the “Tuna King”, paid the top price for the 243kg (536lbs) specimen, which was caught off Japan’s northern coast. Continue reading...
  
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• The Chinese way of death

  05-01-2026 14:40
  In a society where speaking about mortality is thought to bring misfortune, one company is trying to confront it head-on
  
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• Venezuela and the trouble with the Donroe doctrine

  05-01-2026 12:37
  A world order built around great power spheres of influence is a recipe for instability and conflict
  
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• Weather tracker: Arctic air grips Europe as severe winds batter Corsica

  05-01-2026 10:15
  Subzero temperatures, heavy snowfall and powerful gusts mark a harsh start to 2026 for manyIt has been a cold start to the year across much of Europe, particularly in central regions, where temperatures dropped to double-digit negatives. Heavy snowfall hit parts of eastern and central Europe on New Year’s Eve, notably in Poland and Ukraine, with similar conditions across the Alps on the first few days of the year.The cold is likely to continue this week as an Arctic air mass sinks south ac
  
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• In finance, there can be too few reasons to leave

  05-01-2026 06:00
  Perverse incentives and fear of the unknown keep senior bankers stuck in lucrative but unsatisfying jobs
  
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• How south-east Asia is riding out Trump’s tariff storm

  05-01-2026 06:00
  Rerouting of goods from China plus US demand for tech products is propping up trade in the region
  
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• The US violated international law in Venezuela. These are the questions Australia must now ask | Donald Rothwell

  05-01-2026 05:15
  US conduct could become more assertive in the Indo-Pacific in the remaining years of the Trump presidency – with serious implications for Anzus and AukusGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNo matter how the Trump administration seeks to justify its actions in seizing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in an audacious snatch and grab operation, this has been a gross violation of international law.The United Nations charter makes crystal clear that
  
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• America’s drone dilemma

  04-01-2026 17:00
  The US has fallen behind China in manufacturing but targeted import restrictions could help it catch up
  
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• Investor urges corporate Japan to get over bubble-era ‘trauma’

  04-01-2026 06:00
  Asset manager Shuhei Abe says he is looking for managers with new attitude to exert pricing power as inflation returns
  
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• China targets online vendors in tax crackdown

  04-01-2026 05:10
  Beijing seeks to bolster revenues to compensate for slowing economic growth
  
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• North Korea launches ballistic missiles towards sea hours before South Korean leader’s visit to China

  04-01-2026 04:50
  South Korea’s military reports projectile launch, which follows Kim Jong-un calling for doubling of output of tactical guided weaponsNorth Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles towards the sea on Sunday, its neighbours said, just hours before South Korea’s president was due to leave for China for talks expected to cover North Korea’s nuclear program.South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said in a statement that it detected several ballistic missile launches from North
  
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• North Korea launches ballistic missiles towards sea before South Korean leader’s visit to China

  04-01-2026 04:50
  South Korea’s military reports projectile launch hours before Lee Jae Myung was due to head to Beijing North Korea launched ballistic missiles towards the sea on Sunday, its neighbours said, just hours before South Korea’s president was due to leave for talks in China expected to cover North Korea’s nuclear programme.South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said in a statement that they detected several ballistic missile launches from North Korea’s capital region at abou
  
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• North Korea ‘has fired ballistic missile towards the Sea of Japan’

  04-01-2026 00:51
  South Korea’s military report projectile launch, which follows Kim Jong-un calling for doubling of output of tactical guided weaponsNorth Korea has fired a ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast, according to South Korea’s military leaders.The South Korean joint chiefs of staff said: “The North has launched an unidentified ballistic missile toward the East Sea,” referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan. Continue reading...
  
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• London emerges as frontline in US-China battle over robotaxis

  03-01-2026 06:00
  Waymo and Baidu prepare to launch autonomous ride-hailing vehicles in UK capital as soon as 2026
  
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• Hong Kong’s Insta-friendly Sunday drivers

  03-01-2026 06:00
  Car enthusiasts have turned the lack of a dedicated racetrack into a social opportunity
  
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• Mukesh Ambani takes on Coca-Cola and Pepsi for India fizzy drink supremacy

  03-01-2026 04:06
  Reliance Industries plots aggressive growth for Campa Cola
  
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• The year angry men dominated Bollywood - and what it means for India

  03-01-2026 01:12 via bbc.com
  Violent, male-driven films dominated the Indian box-office and cultural conversations in 2025.
  
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• ‘Magical place’: tourists see another side of Papua New Guinea’s most troubled region

  03-01-2026 00:00
  Tourism operators in PNG’s highlands offer access to lush scenery, adventure and culture – in contrast with the region’s dangerous imageIn the lush hills of Papua New Guinea’s highlands, Ambua Lodge sits in picturesque but troubled surrounds. From this region – one of the country’s poorest and most dangerous – the hotel is attempting to carve another path for Hela province, which has long been beset by tribal fighting.Despite a history of conflict in the
  
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• How K-beauty went from a viral trend to an economic powerhouse

  02-01-2026 23:20 via bbc.com
  Inside the K-beauty industry that has made South Korea a major player in worldwide beauty market.
  
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• China's BYD overtakes Tesla as world's top EV seller

  02-01-2026 16:03 via bbc.com
  Itmarks the first time the Chinese firm has outpaced its American rival for annual sales.
  
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• ‘A place of darkness and light’: the uninhabited Japanese island that became a rabbit paradise

  02-01-2026 13:00
  Once host to a poisonous gas research facility, Okunoshima is now an Instagram-friendly tourist destinationThe bunny-ear designs on the window aside, there is little to indicate that the ferry has arrived on an island teeming with rabbits. Then, moments after the passengers disembark, there is activity in the undergrowth. A single rabbit scampers out, wholly untroubled by its two-legged visitors. And then another.A short walk along the coast takes visitors deep into rabbit territory on Okunoshim
  
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• What makes an elephant abandon her calf – and is it a growing problem?

  02-01-2026 12:00
  A helpless baby elephant has won the Thai public’s sympathy but her case has shed light on the pressures facing herds across AsiaKhao Tom, a two-month-old elephant, plays with a wildlife officer, nudging his face and curling her trunk around his wrist. When she lifts her trunk in the air, signalling that she is hungry, the team at the rescue centre seems relieved – she has not been eating well. A vet prepares a pint-sized bottle of formula, which she gulps down impatiently.Khao Tom h
  
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• Indian families grieve deaths caused by contaminated tap water

  02-01-2026 10:28 via bbc.com
  Officials in Indore say four people have died after drinking contaminated water but families allege the toll is higher.
  
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• When north and south winds collide, torrential rain falls in south-east Asia

  02-01-2026 07:00
  The monsoon season is crucial for agriculture, making up 80% of annual rainfall, but also extremely destructive January brings torrential rain to south-east Asia – more than 250mm fell in just two days in Singapore last year. This is because of the monsoon, a pattern of wind and rainfall, the name of which stems from the Arabic word for “season”.The monsoon is sometimes described in terms of a sea breeze, in which the wind reverses direction in the morning and evening as the re
  
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• Prices for lab monkeys surge on China biotech boom

  02-01-2026 06:00
  More drugs entering middle or late-stage development drive up demand
  
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• China doubles down on export-led growth model

  02-01-2026 06:00
  The country plans to reinforce its dominance of global manufacturing, despite persistent deflation at home and rising tensions abroad
  
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